There are a few ways to setup EOS ACCOUNT if you don't have one already:
Ask a friend that has an existing EOS account owner to create one for you.
Use an account generator tool or service
https://eos-account-creator.com/
https://www.zeos.co/
Directly off an exchange by using the signupeoseos smart contract. You can do this by sending a recommended 2-3 EOS to signupeoseos with the transaction memo including your desired account name followed by a dash(-) and then your desired EOS public key (requirements for account names and how to generate an EOS public key are explained more below. The smart contract will use the EOS to purchase the required 4KBs of RAM, stake 0.1 towards CPU, and 0.1 towards bandwidth. Any excess EOS amount will be used to purchase additional RAM.
Regardless of the method of account creation chosen, you will need One or Two different valid EOS Public/Private Keypair(s)
In every case, it will be a two step process:
Generating an EOS Public / Private Key
Assigning the EOS Public key(s) to an EOS account.
Note: Accounts must be 12 characters, numbers and letters. You can search availability of names by typing the name into a block explorer like eosflare.io. Alternative premium names are coming soon with the ongoing EOS name auction.
How much does an EOS account cost?
An EOS account will require about 8KBs of RAM to generate. RAM prices can be checked at https://www.eosrp.io
RAM resources are currently in high demand on the EOS Mainnet -- so prices are up to $0.674 per KB. So an account will cost equivalent of roughly $5.39 USD. RAM prices are expected to decrease as the network resources are expanded.
How are EOS accounts different from other digital currency wallets on the EOS blockchain?
Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum, with EOS, tokens are held in accounts, not by the keys themselves. Each EOS account will have one Active key and one Owner Key associated with it which can be updated/reassigned. The EOS Active Key and the EOS Owner Key work as passwords in EOS to unlock and use an EOS account. The difference is the Owner Key acts as the "master password" and can be used to reset the keys associated with an account. It is possible to use the same EOS key as both the Owner Key and the Active Key, or use the same key pair for multiple EOS accounts, but for security it may be better to have a separate Owner key for emergencies that is never used online and use different EOS keypairs across different EOS accounts.
Once you have an EOS account, you can check to see what the Active and Owner keys associated with it are by visiting an account explorer like http://eosnetworkmonitor.io/#accountInfo
What does an EOS keypair look like?
An EOS keypair will look something like this:
***************Do not use this key! For example purposes only!***************
EOS PUBLIC KEY: EOS7LVHJBJNWdZG8bXcNZQZRn5Riufn6KpeVDSK337Tbj7vCwEWAJ
Private Key: 5KNuHZJDNACPQFHZ6EkpfpiqypCUyLczbnnkCdF5bGd2X3tpBfk
***************Do not use this key! For example purposes only!***************
They can be generated with the following tools: * EOSKEY (offline key generator, easy to use, recommended for maximum security) * Scatter (Chrome extension, recommended for daily use) * Offline using official EOSIO code * Cleos (Official wallet by Block.one but command line tool, only for advanced users) * Simple javascript generator (easiest to use but be careful)
Once the keypair is generated, the most important part is you are responsible for backing up your private key and Do not share your EOS PRIVATE KEY WITH ANYONE!
You will use the EOS PUBLIC key you generated during the account signup process to set the EOS Active key and the EOS Owner key.
Once you have your account generated, you can load it into any EOS wallet of choice:
https://steemit.com/eos/@eosrio/introducing-simpleos-a-desktop-wallet-voting-interface-for-the-eos-ecosystem
https://steemit.com/eos/@greymass/announcing-eos-voter-an-eos-block-producer-voting-tool-and-light-wallet
https://get-scatter.com (Browser extension -- Like metamask for EOS)
Have any questions about the process? Hit me up in the comments below!